district governor's newsletter issue 1 – july 2012

Rotary International

CYPRUS ARMENIA BAHRAIN LEBANON PALESTINE

JORDAN EGYPT GEORGIA SUDAN UAE

D I S T R I C T 2 4 5 0

Governor’s Newsletter ISSUE 1 / JULY 2012

DISTRICT

GOVERNOR

2012-13

Kevork Mahdessian

G o v e r n o r ’ s M e s s a g e

D I S T R I C T 2 4 5 0D I S T R I C T 2 4 5 0

Dear Rotarian Sisters and Brothers,

I feel greatly honoured and pleased to serve as your District Governor for the Rotary year 2012-2013, the last governorship of District 2450 that has been Re-districted and will come into effect as of 1st July of 2013. The new districts comprise of Egypt on its own with District 2451 and the rest of the countries in District 2452 that includes Armenia, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Jordan, Lebanon, Pal-estine, Sudan and the UAE.

First of all I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to PDG Usama Barghouti for the fantastic job he did during the past year. His knowl-edge of Rotary is exemplary and the tireless work he performed for the District, needs to be recognized. Please allow me to say a very big THANK YOU on be-half of all Rotarians of the District.

As for Redistricting, in our sincere inner feelings and understanding, Re-districting does not mean cutting off relations with our Rotarian brothers and sisters of Egypt with whom throughout the years we have had wonderful co-operation, close friendship and faithful understanding. Our main aim and wish is to continue maintaining strong and friendly relations through joint ac-tivities and undertaking mutual profitable humanitarian projects.

RI PRESIDENT

2012-13

Sakuji Tanaka

Governor’s Newsletter

D i s t r i c t 2 4 5 0D i s t r i c t 2 4 5 0

A committee is working for a fair and smooth transition and method of co-operation.

Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka has asked us to promote Peace through Service, and to fo-cus the energies of our clubs on the three priorities of RI Strategic Plan:

To promote Peace through Service,

to support and strengthen clubs,

to focus and increase humanitarian service and

to enhance public image and awareness.

“Peace Through Service” a fitting theme for the present days.

Let us all search for peace within ourselves, Peace within our families, Peace within our clubs , Districts, and amongst the peoples of the world.

All the Service projects the Rotary Clubs do somehow contribute towards world peace and understanding.

The eradication of Polio, our fight against poverty, for clean drinking water, sanitation, and all those ex-cellent programmes of the Rotary Foundation are ultimately intended to promote world peace and under-standing.

July is the beginning of our Rotary year. New Rotary officers begin their year of service . Club Presidents will focus on running their Clubs smoothly and in a productive manner, preside at club Board Meetings, ensure that each committee has defined objectives and is functioning consistently ,hold regular club As-semblies, cooperate with the District Governor in club and District matters and handle all correspon-dence promptly. Work according to the club budget stipulated, and manage club finances, including an annual audit .Apply the contents of the club President’s Monthly Check list, follow your Planning Guide for Effective club results and look into Membership Growth and Retention Support.

Dear Friends, I am sure you realise how important a role Rotary can play these days within some of the countries of our District where there is turmoil, unemployment and consequently destitute. Let us there-fore join hands and reach out to those in need the way Rotarians know best, and let us work with pas-sion and love to somehow eleveate the pain of those suffering.

In conclusion, I wish every one of you a truly successful year no matter in what capacity you are serving, so let us all go forth and serve humanity with Love and Passion whilst in the meantime enjoying Rotary fellowship and having the satisfaction of making this last year of our District 2450,

THE BEST OF THE LAST.

Yours in Rotary

Kevork Mahdessian

Governor



Dear fellow Rotarians,

I am part of the first generation to grow up in Japan after a terrible war. I think it is natural that my countrymen now place a great priority on peace. We saw where militarism brought our coun-try, and we also saw the great economic growth that came when our nation made the choice to embrace peace.

This was the decision that allowed Japan to grow and thrive. It allowed generations of children to grow up in safety, to become educated, to improve their lives. It fundamentally changed the Japanese attitude toward other countries and cultures. It caused us to open our minds, to be-come more tolerant, to seek greater understanding.

And it allowed us to redirect our energies toward positive goals. In Japan, it is traditional to pri-oritize the needs of the society over the needs of the individual. This has always been part of our culture. In the weeks and months following the great earthquake and disaster of March 2011, this was what helped us to survive and rebuild.

This is a lesson that I think the whole world can learn from, in a positive way. When we see the needs of others as more important than our own needs – when we focus on a shared goal that is for the good of all – this changes everything. It changes how we relate to the world. It changes our priorities. And it changes how we understand the idea of peace.

In the 2012-13 Rotary year, peace will be our focus and our goal, and I will ask all Rotarians to actively work for Peace Through Service.

A belief in the power of service lies at the very heart of Rotary. By making service our priority, we put the needs of others above our own. We empathize more deeply with the difficulties of other people; we become more generous with our time and resources, and more open to new ways of thinking. Instead of trying to change others, we recognize that everyone and everything has something to teach us.

Through service, we become more tolerant of our differences and more grateful for the people in our lives. Our sense of gratitude drives us to understand others better and to see the good in everyone. Through better understanding, we learn to respect others. With mutual respect, we live with others in peace.

And so I ask you all to put Peace Through Service at the forefront of your Rotary work this year, and to commit to a Rotary goal of a more peaceful world.

M e s s a g e f r o m R I P r e s i d e n t 2 0 1 2 - 1 3 S a k u j i T a n a k a J u l y 2 0 1 2



Our goals for the year

Accepting the leadership of The Rotary Foundation after my predecessors – in particular, Past RI President Bill Boyd – did such a great job is a challenge. Oh, it’s not that I don’t know about the job. You can’t have been a Rotarian for 50 years without knowing and loving the work that our Foundation has done, is doing, and will do.

I know it all comes down to three things: raising money, investing money wisely, and spending money effectively. However, if the trustees and I are to have a truly significant year, we must have a plan, and every district, club, and individual Rotarian needs to be part of that plan. We have five goals:

1. Eradicate polio.

2. Train districts and clubs for the global launch of the Future Vision Plan on 1 July 2013.

3. Assist RI President Sakuji Tanaka in his quest to achieve Peace Through Service . The suc-cessful projects and programs of our Foundation are what will bring about that peace.

4. Encourage every Rotarian and every club in the world to become immensely proud of our Foundation by giving something to the Annual Fund. The amount isn’t as important as the giving, but by setting a reasonable target of at least an average of US$100 per member, we will see our annual giving and our service grow to record levels.

5. Ensure that districts and clubs introduce stewardship policies that will complement the oppor-tunities they will have to decide on and undertake humanitarian projects under the Future Vision Plan. This will make Rotary more visible and more attractive to members.

I know these goals may be easy for some and quite challenging for others, but accepted with enthusiasm and confidence, they can only, in the words of Past RI President Ray Klinginsmith, make Rotary bigger, better, and bolder.

M e s s a g e f r o m F o u n d a t i o n T r u s t e e C h a i r 2 0 1 2 - 1 3 W i l f r i d J . W i l k i n s o n J u l y 2 0 1 2



Post Graduate Diploma in Institutional Management from Turin Centre, Italy

Graduate Degree in Mechanical Engineering from CAAE London

Graduate of The English School, Nicosia, Cyprus

Educational Background

Executive Director of Vass Properties Ltd, 2003 to date

Senior Non Executive Director of SFS Group Public Company Ltd, 2004 to date

Member of the Board of Directors of Cyventure Capital Public Company Ltd, 2003-2005

Member of the Board of the Cyprus Resource Centre

Member of the Cyprus Apprenticeship Board

Cyprus Representative and Focal Point at UNDP programs on Application and Transfer of New Technologies

Participation in ILO, UNHCR, UNDP and Commonwealth Secretariat missions to African and former Eastern block countries

Head of Vocational Training Centres, CPC, Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance,1969-2000

Services Manager with MEK in West Africa, 1966-1969

Services Manager with MF in Lebanon, 1964-1966

Professional Accomplishments

Born 17th August, Nicosia, Cyprus

Nationality Cypriot

Family Status

Married to Vart Shahmirian with

2 sons – Raffi and Varant

Personal Data Mobile +357 99 653533

Office no/Fax no +357 22755095

E-mail [email protected]

E-mail [email protected]

Contact Details

Member of the Board of Governors of The English School, Nicosia

Past President and member of the Community Administrative Council

Past President and long-serving member of the AYMA sporting club

Member of the Board of Directors of The English Institute

Representative of the Community at World Council Meetings

General Assembly Chairman and member of the Hamazkayin Cultural Association

President of AYS, Students and Youth Society in London

Member of Musical Societies and Choirs in London and Cyprus

Member of Boy Scouts and Wolf Cub movements in Cyprus

Social Activities

C u r r i c u l u m V i t a e

Kevork Mahdessian District 2450 Governor 2012-13

Rotary Activities 1995 Charter Member of The Rotary Club of Nicosia Aspelia

1997-1998 President of R.C. Nicosia Aspelia

1999-2000 Country Chairman Rotary Friendship Exchange Committee

2001-2004 Assistant Governor

2004-2005 AG`s Co-ordinator for Cyprus

2004-2005 Governor’s Representative for Georgia and Armenia

2005-2006 District Secretary

2005-2006 Governor`s Representative for Georgia and Armenia

2006-2007 Governor`s Representative for Georgia and Armenia, and AG for 3 Cyprus Clubs

2007-2008 District Governor’s Board member and Deputy Governor for Georgia and Armenia

2008-2009 Deputy District Governor for Cyprus, Georgia and Armenia

2008-2009 Established two new Rotary Clubs in Tbilisi, Georgia

2009-2010 Deputy District Governor for Georgia and Armenia

2009-2010 Established two new Rotary Clubs in Yerevan, Armenia

2010-2011 District Governor Nominee, and Deputy Governor for Georgia and Armenia

2011-2012 DG Elect and Deputy Governor for Georgia and Armenia

2012 Organised DTTS for all the District in Cyprus

2012 Organised PETS for all the District in Cyprus, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan

2012-2013 District Governor

Attended all District 2450 Conferences since 1996

All PETS Seminars held in Cyprus since 1996

All DTTS Seminars held in Cyprus and some in Egypt

TRF Seminars in Cyprus, Egypt and Lebanon

Participated as trainer in Training Seminars

Attended The Rotary Mediterranean Peace Conference in Istanbul, 2007

Attended all Cyprus Intercity Conferences since 2008

Attended GETS and Rotary Institute Seminar in Sofia, Bulgaria, 2010

Attended RI Conference in Montreal, Canada, 2010

Attended DTTS Seminar in Amman Jordan, 2011

District Conferences and Seminars attended

Attended GETS, TRF and Rotary Zone Institute in Cairo, 2011

Organised all DTTS and PETS programs, 2012

Attended Water and World Understanding Forum in Instabul, 2012

Attended Zone TRF meeting in Amman 2012

Hobbies Classical music/operas, reading, tennis, swimming, travelling and arts



C h a n g e o v e r C e r e m o n i e s

District Governor 2450

Usama Barghouthi to Kevork Mahdessian

Deputy District Governor 2450 for Cyprus

Themis Themistocleous to Fantinos Hadjimitsis

by PAG Biland Sadek

6 July 2012 Cyprus Hilton, Nicosia

Photographer

sponsored by



Master of Ceremony Elena Tanou opened the session by introducing Governors Usama Barghouthi his wife Lina, Kevork Mahdessian and spouse Vart , PDGs Assem Abdel Razek, Mohammed Delawar, Farid Gebran, Takis Karakannas and wife Yiannoula, Doros Jero-

poulos and wife Elise, J o h n Strongylos a n d w i f e Clea, Cy-prus Parlia-ment Member Vartkes Mahdes-sian and wife Maggy, DGE Jamil Mouawad, PDDGs

Tassos Televantides, George Papaleontiou, Themis Themistocleous and spouse Maro, DDG Fantinos Hadjimitsis and wife Yianna, DDG Nabil Mitri Presi-dent of RC Abou Dhabi, PAG Mustafa Nasreddin of

RC Aman Petra, PAG Shirine Akl from Cairo, Yaseen Jaffer President of RC Dubai, President Ola Al Masri of RC Amman Cosmopolitan PP Bashar Asfour of RC Amman West, PP David Zein from RC Beirut Metropolitan and Cyprus District Conference Chairperson Christina Patro-clou Kovotsos with her husband Patroclos.

With inner feelings, respect and pride all attendants stood up whilst the Rotary International Anthem was played, followed by PAG Nina Sadek who read the Grace.

Toasts were raised in honor of RIP 2011-2012 Kalyan Baner-jee and wife Binota,RIP 2012-2013 Sakuji Tanaka and wife Kyoko,DG 2011-12 Usama Barghouthi and wife Lina,DG2012-13 Kevork Mahdessian and wife Vart.



DG Usama Barghouthi delivered his ad-dress by thanking all for their co-operation good zeal and productive achievements, stressing upon the importance of the New Generation for the continued progress of Rotary, the great importance to continue our battle against Polio disease. He wished DGE Kevork success and fruitful productive results underlined his readiness to assist whenever required.

DG Usama in appreciation for the AGs, Presidents and officers he presented them with plaques.



Incoming Governor Kevork, ap-proached the podium with his usual humour, and praised DG Usama for his great achievements and his impecca-ble character as a Good Rotarian and as a Good friend. He further expressed his thanks and appreciation for all the Rotarian Dignitaries who had come from different countries whose pres-ence was an expression of love and fellowship amongst Rotarians of the District. Governor Kevork saluted all the Rotarians who were present repre-senting all the Clubs in Cyprus includ-ing Turkish Cypriot Rotarians and spe-cifically expressed his pleasure in see-ing the Rotaractors and the younger generation who will be their future some day. The Governor stressed the importance of the 2012-13 theme of the RI President Tanaka , Peace Through Service. He stressed that Rotarians are not politicians and cannot solve political problems but that every Service that Rotary does helps towards Peace. And he questioned ,How could we have peace when there are over a million peo-ple dying of hunger every day , how would parents feel when they see their infants dying be-cause of hunger , polluted water and bad sanitation. Then Governor Kevork made the audiance clap every 3.5 seconds to stress the point that every time they clap a child is dying because of hunger. He asked the Rotarians to extend their helping hands to aliviate the suffering of these people. He also reminded all present of the Priority Project of Rotary which is the Polio Plus.We are that close he said and Polio must be eradicated at all cost and that we should continue with passion as there are only three countries left. He spoke of the Future Vision programme of Ro-tary and Strategic Planning by Clubs calling for bigger and bolder projects in future.

The Governor stressed the importance of retaining members in the clubs and asked to make a drive for Younger members who should be given a chance to prove themselves ,that they should be listened and given every chance to participate in projects and activities.

The Governor concluded saying that although this coming year will be the last of District 2450 this does not mean that we shall break contacts with the new District 2451 of Egypt, on the contrary we shall try our ut-most to organize activities together,and keep our friendship alive. He continued saying, with the help of all Rotarians in the District Rotarac-tors, Interactors, as well as the family of Rotary we shall try to have a highly successful year and make it The Best Of The Last.



DDG 2011-12 Themis Themistocleous at the podium a d d r e s s e d the audience as Brothers and Sisters with inner feeling of closeness . He thanked warmly eve-rybody and e s p e c i a l l y those who have come from abroad for joining the special event. What is important in Rotary he said is not what we say, it is who we are and what we do and that what we were asked by RIP Kalyan to “REACH WITHIN TO EMBRACE HUMANITY”; We can change the word through Rotary, by changing ourselves first by thinking about eve-rything we do and say, making sure that our actions reflect the people that we want to be.

In turn Themis asked the clubs to reach within themselves to identify their strength and weak-nesses, to think how they can turn the opportu-nities for service that exist in their communities into ambitious projects that embrace humanity. We must plan strategically for the next three years. Thanks to a special task force headed by Phaedon Stylianides, we now have a Cyprus Rotary Strategic Plan, which I proudly hand over to my successor Fantinos Hadjimitsis. My team he said worked hard to organize the An-nual Cyprus Rotary Conference and Assembly in the mountain resort of Platres. We have held training seminars on Membership Development, the Rotary Foundation and the Image of Rotary and the DTTS seminar. On the anniversary of Rotary in February, we achieved extensive me-dia coverage focusing on the success of Ro-tary’s worldwide campaign to eradicate polio.

Governor Usama kept us going. With his en-couragement, our clubs contributed 50.000 Dollars to the Rotary Foundation. He visited the clubs early in the year, offering advice on ad-ministration matters and service projects.

Themis thanked Usama wholeheartedly for his support being a strong source of inspiration and thanked him again for hosting in May the con-ference in Aqaba. Serving as your deputy in Cy-prus he said has been an honor. He further on expressed his good wishes to DG Kevork along with the warmest congratulations of the 19 clubs in Cyprus assuring him with his constant help and support in his endeavor to make his year “THE BEST OF THE LAST”.

Themis later expressed his good wishes to all members of his administration team, and quoted special vote of congratulation to PDG Doros Jeropoulos for receiving from President Kalyan the highest Rotarian distinction; THE SERVICE ABOBE SELF Award.

At the end, he said, I want to share what I came up with when I reached within: “We must not be members of a Rotary club .We must be ROTARIANS committed to SERVE ABOVE SELF, actively involved, contributors to the Foundation, need to be more ambitious plan, bigger and bolder projects locally and globally. We must he said:

Re-focus on Vocational Service Open the doors to younger generation Get ready for Future Vision Strongly project the image of Rotary

Having responded to the call of President Kalyan he said, I ask you today to respond to the call of President Sakuji, help build a word of PEACE THROUGH SERVICE, under the guidance of the incoming DDG Fantinos Hadjimitsis.



At an unexpected moment of surprise DDG Themis Themistocleous recognized PAG Biland Sadek, invited the audience to join him as well in recognizing his outstanding record of service to Rotary and the Society. He presented him with DDG’s award, a dedicated true life time Rotarian he said, who has set a shining example of Em-bracing Humanity over the last 53 years, distin-guished himself, in his club and Rotary, through his passionate commitment to SERVE ABOVE SELF and his leadership role for more than five decades. Over the 30 years, he has been the edi-tor of Rotary Newsletters and magazines, per-manent correspondent for our District Magazine, Chairman of the Public Relations, Magazine and Awards Committees and Assistant Governor, in-

strumental in setting up the RC Nicosia Aspelia , respected mentor of many of us here tonight, including myself. For the record, he said he was the Club President who inducted me into Ro-tary.

Incoming DDG Fantinos Hadjimitsis, addressing the audience he stated that taking over the Lead-ership of the Cyprus through the post of District Deputy Governor though is hard and difficult but most rewarding that makes me feel honored and privileged to work with wonderful people.

The up- coming Rotary Year will be a landmark for District 2450 that is not only changing its face but its character as well since circumstances call for even greater effort. We are to concentrate on vari-ous important targets to make Rotary enjoyable to all of us.

To achieve the major targets set by our new DG, all incoming officers have started since March working systematically for proper satisfaction and wish to thank them all.

As you know Rotary is the greatest humanitarian organization in the world. It brings new meaning to term like Friendship, Progress, and Change, serving and taking care of other people, working for PEACE THROUGH SERVICE. I would like to urge you he said to keep working hard to share and par-ticipate in the effort to render our Cyprus Rotary stronger.

At this point he said I would like on behalf of all to express to DDG Themis our sincere thanks and appreciation for his commitment, cooperation, Fellowship and Support throughout the year. Person-ally I look forward to continuing our cooperation and Fellowship under the Governorship of our new Governor Kevork Mahdessian, whose value and leadership abilities, no doubt will lead our District to even greater achievements.

In the meantime, he wished the Governor, incoming Presidents and officers every success.

Let us work all together for stronger Cyprus Rotary.



Photographer sponsored by

district governor's newsletter issue 1 – july 2012

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